Texas Music Administrator of the Year

Please join the Round Rock ISD Fine Arts faculty and leadership in congratulating Jim Van Zandt who was named Texas Music Administrator of the Year.  The announcement was made Friday, November 19th at the Texas Music Administrators Conference in Austin.  Jim will be recognized officially during the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in February 2011in San Antonio.   This prestigious award recognizes outstanding leaders and is voted on from the at-large membership of the Texas Music Educators Association. 

Mr. Van Zandt is in his tenth year as Director of Fine Arts for the Round Rock Independent School District. In this capacity, is involved with operations, curriculum, staff development, budget, and staffing. He is also actively involved with the structure and curriculum of the district's Fine Arts Academy. As a part of his role, he is a constant advocate for the arts in education.

Jim holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of North Texas, where he was listed in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was Director of Bands and Fine Arts Department Chair at Westwood High School (Round Rock ISD) from 1995-2001, after serving as Director of Bands at Richland High School (Birdville ISD) for the previous twenty years. He has also taught in Denton, Fredericksburg, Raymondville, and Jayton, Texas.

Jim is tireless advocate for all the arts and our faculty and leadership are extremely proud of him in achieving this well-deserved recognition.

Dia de los Muertos

Art 6 Ofrenda

Studio Art 7/8 Ofrenda

Tomorrow my students at Hernandez will be wrapping up a month long unit that focused on Dia de los Muertos. We created paper-mâché skulls and various foods to display in our classroom ofrendas. We also created festive flags and posters to create awareness, as well as tissue paper/newspaper flowers to adorn the ofrendas. We all had a lot of fun trying out new media together: paper-mâché, watercolor pencils, water soluble oil pastels, and acrylic paint. On November 2nd we will have class celebrations to remember why we started this unit to begin with. A month ago students were asked to think about someone who has passed away that they would like to celebrate and remember on Dia de los Muertos. Many students chose family members, pets, and iconic figures (Frida Kahlo, Martin Luther King, Jr....) and then wrote a short dedication.

Overall, classes are going really well and REALLY FAST! I cannot believe that we are wrapping up the 2nd six weeks already - each day seems to fly by quicker than the last. I am still staying pretty late most days of the week trying to catch up/prepare, but am hoping that soon I will start kicking myself out of the classroom at a decent hour (or at least before it gets dark outside). I am very excited for the TAEA conference next week! I'll be hanging a few pieces of student work in the student exhibit area. Which reminds me, does anyone have an extra mat cutter at their school? Cindy and I are without one and I am getting a little nervous about upcoming shows/displays. I guess I could free hand it... ahhhhhhh! hahahah :)

I hope everyone is having a really good year so far!

Sarah